Prep Football Roundup: Meridian rises to the challenge in victory over Mount Baker
LAUREL — Meridian’s football players, coaches and fans won’t have to hear last year’s lament again:
“You guys must surely have one of the state’s best teams not to win a league game,” was heard all too often.
Now, in the wake of Meridian’s 27-14 win over Mount Baker, the explosive Trojans (1-0 NWC 1A, 5-1 overall) will learn if they have a shot at winning the title of what is acknowledged by pretty much everyone to be the state’s toughest league, top-to-bottom.
To be sure, the Trojans will learn much no matter who wins Friday’s Week 7 showdown at high-scoring Nooksack Valley (2-0, 5-1) Friday at 7 p.m. The Pioneers come off a 42-7 conquest of Blaine (0-2, 4-2).
Arrive early. This one promises to be a pip that matches teams with a combined total of 473 points in their first six games.
One of Meridian’s leaders, University of Montana-bound lineman Lincoln Hoefer, put it best when he was the first to address his teammates after a superb defensive performance:
“YOU … ROSE … TO …. THE … CHALLENGE,” the big bruiser told his wide-eyed teammates in capital-letter language describing Meridian’s first win over Mount Baker (0-2, 4-2) since 2018.
When asked if this wasn’t his team’s best defensive effort of the season, Meridian coach Patrick Ames responded, “It has to be, given the opponent.”
The Trojans amassed 393 total yards while limiting the Mountaineers to 196.
Right from the get-go — a 53-yard pass from fourth-year quarterback Jaeger Fyfe to quick sophomore Kasey Brennan on the first play — the Trojans showed they weren’t about to be intimidated by the hard-hitting Mounties, who won their first four games before falling to Nooksack Valley 34-20.
Both teams displayed a healthy and sportsmanlike respect for each other. But on this night, Meridian was clearly the best team.
Soon after Brennan was stripped at the 10-yard line, versatile senior backfield star Landen Downey scored from the 4 for the first of his three touchdowns and three extra points.
Downey’s 21-point showcase gave him 100 points in only six games.
“If someone had told me I would have 100 points in the first six games, I would never have believed it,” said Downey, who gained 129 yards on 18 carries and did not lose a single yard on any of them.
“Landen’s amazing,” said Fyfe, who completed 12 of 19 passes for 172 yards and no interceptions and now has three consecutive seasons of more than 1,000 yards passing.
“Hey, Landen turns a five-yard pass into a 52-yard touchdown,” he said in awe of the tackle-busting play that gave the Trojans a 20-7 lead on their first series of the second half — an 84-yard, eight-play drive.
Baker produced a 7-7 tie when junior Brice Cooper returned a punt 52 yards to score and freshman Enoc Smith kicked the extra point with 4:21 left in the first half.
“A big block by Brady Bruland enabled Brice to get into the end zone,” said Baker coach Ron Lepper.
The Trojans, though, showed no discouragement. They immediately launched a 72-yard, nine-play drive capped by Downey’s 1-yard touchdown for a 14-7 lead. Kelley Gray had runs of 14 and 11 yards on the drive, and Downey chipped in with a 19-yard run to the 19 before Fyfe threw to River Todd for 11 yards and Fyfe scrambled for 9.
But Baker was far from finished, scoring on an 8-yard pass from Luke Smith to Bruland with 8:34 left in the fourth quarter to end a 47-yard, nine-play drive . It was Bruland’s ninth TD of the season. The key play was a 21-yard pass from Smith to Caden Mosher on fourth-and-4 to the 20-yard line. Dylan Moa then ran three times for 13 yards to set up the score.
Meridian, though, stuck to the ground for nine consecutive plays to eat up Mount Baker’s chances. Downey ran five times for 44 yards and Gray packed three times for 14 yards before Fyfe scored from the 1 on a keeper with 2:49 left.
Downey has attracted interest from Jamestown, a North Dakota university. But don’t look for Fyfe in a college football uniform, despite his career total of 4,344 passing yards and 35 touchdowns, with 1,087 this season after county historian Tyler Anderson noted Fyfe came into the season with 3,257 yards.
“I’m interested in college basketball,” said the lanky, personable Fyfe. “I’d love to hear from some basketball coaches.”
Moa rushed 22 times for 81 yards and Bruland carried 11 times for 65 yards. For Meridian, Gray complemented Downey with 67 yards on 16 carries.
“Everybody played hard but we made some key mistakes,” Lepper said. “I’ve got to do a better job of calling plays at key times. Meridian played well.”
“As much as anything, I’m pleased with how hard we were able to play,“ Ames said. “Both teams hit hard — Baker did, too. We really like our group. We were a great team for this week.”
Elsewhere
Lynden 36, Squalicum 30 (OT): The Lions (3-1 NWC 2A, 5-1 overall) won a thriller over the Storm (3-3, 3-3) to remain in strong contention for the State Round of 32 in Week Ten.
“In overtime (a Kansas Tiebreaker), we got them in second-and-long and Dane Marti had a strip sack and Parker Williams recovered the ball at the 25,” said Lions coach Blake Van Dalen. “Max Assink ran eight yards to the 17 and Brant Heppner carried four straight times and scored from the 1 to end the game.”
With the game tied 27-27, Storm kicker Slade Kaiser kicked a 33-yard field goal with a minute left in regulation. But Heppner completed six of seven passes on a last-gasp drive, including a 30-yarder to Samm Puello Arango, and Malachi Koenen made good from 25 yards out on his first field goal of the season for a 30-30 tie with 10 seconds left in regulation.
Heppner completed 25 of 34 passes for 305 yards and touchdowns of 36 and 8 yards to Isaiah Oudman, whom Van Dalen noted caught 11 passes for 140 yards. Assink scored twice on runs and finished with 103 yards on 14 carries, and Arango caught five passes for 80 yards. Koenen had an extra point kick blocked, leaving the score at 27-27, but the sophomore kicker went 3-for-3 otherwise and is 19-for-19 on the season.
Storm tight end Laki Fagaautau scored twice on passes from Marcus Nixon and Cole Burke, the junior’s 11th touchdown pass in his first season as starting quarterback. Nixon gained 216 yards on 29 carries and ran for two scores and Burke completed 10 of 13 passes for 97 yards. Kaiser kicked three extra points before Williams blocked his last attempt.
Heppner has thrown for 1,537 yards in the first six games, with 15 touchdowns including two or three in every game. County historian Anderson listed Heppner as coming into the season with 2,876 yards in three years, good for 32 touchdowns, so his statistical improvement is dramatic.
Ansen Asbjornsen had a key second-half interception for Squalicum.
“Our junior safety Brody Price scored a 39 on our defensive rating system, one of the highest by a safety in our history,” Van Dalen said. “He had 10 tackles and five assists. We were also happy to have offensive lineman Blake Holman back from an injury.”
Nooksack Valley 42, Blaine 7: Colton Lentz scored on runs of 5, 59, 35, and 34 yards, giving the senior 146 yards rushing on six carries and extending his school career record to 65 touchdowns. Lentz has 400 yards rushing on only 23 carries in his first two league games and he has a county-leading 16 touchdowns this season. Even so, junior quarterback Evan Brown has thrown for 11 scores in his first year as starter.
Cole Coppinger scored on a 64-yard pick six, and Lance VanBerkum blocked a punt and ran the ball 20 yards to score for Nooksack, which led 35-0 at the half.
Blaine’s touchdown came on a 1-yard run by quarterback Colin Davis. Logan Villarreal kicked the extra point.
Jaiden Paez led the Borderites with 20 carries for 86 yards. He has 983 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“We turned the ball over five times. Attention to detail on offense and eye discipline on defense plagued us for the second week in a row,” said Blaine coach Andy Olson. “We need to clean those things up if we want to see growth and improvement down the stretch.”
Sehome 47, Lynden Christian 25: Sehome quarterback Nolan Wright and fellow record-breaking receiver Andre Watson have support from another “No. 1,” as coach Brian Young calls junior Theo Quiggle.
“That’s how we see Theo, as a No. 1,” Young said after Quiggle continued his breakout season with eight catches for 128 yards and touchdowns of 13 and 15 yards in the nonleague victory for the Mariners (3-2, 4-2) at Civic Stadium. It was the only Saturday game of Week 6.
Watson, a senior who holds several career records at Sehome, caught the other three of Wright’s five touchdown passes, scoring from the 22, 41 and 31 with his typically remarkable moves and hands. Watson caught nine passes for 159 yards.
Wright finished 19 for 33 for 335 yards with no interceptions and also scored on a 2-yard run and a two-point conversion run plus on a two-point conversion pass to Watson. Wright has 16 touchdown passes this season and a school record 51 for his career, plus his 1,453 yards passing in the first six games have improved his three-year career total to 4,680 yards.
Watson has 10 aerial scores among his 48 catches for 659 yards. He extended his school career record to 33 touchdown catches and also improved his records for career yards to 2,312 yards and catches to 168.
“It really gives me confidence, what the coach says about me,” said Quiggle, who confirmed he caught “thousands” of passes from his buddy Wright in summer workouts. “It’s a lot about chemistry.”
“I think our team is getting better with every game,” said Wright.
Lynden Christian (1-0, 3-3), an NWC 1A title contender, wouldn’t argue with the quarterback. But then, the Lyncs have a solid junior quarterback in their own right. Eli Maberry 18 of 26 yards for 277 yards and three touchdowns to Boyce Robertson of 21, 65 and 35 yards.
Maberry has thrown for more than 200 yards in all but one game and has completed 100 of 148 passes for 1,376 yards and 13 touchdowns. Sehome, however, pestered him with interceptions by Hudson Neff and Grady Evans.
Sehome’s other points came on a 31-yard field goal by Evans, his school-record 10th for his career Evans also went 4-for-4 on extra points..
Mick Owen scored LC’s other touchdown on a 20-yard run. Robertson, a talented junior, caught eight passes for 157 yards and three scores.
Robertson’s 65-yard score pulled the Lyncs within 32-19 in the last minute of the third quarter after Sehjome surged to a 25-7 halftime bulge. But Watson and Quiggle denied the Lyncs a shot at victory with their final touchdown catches.
“We’ll be focusing on our running game and our defensive backfield play in practice this week,” said Young, whose team faces Bellingham on Friday at Civic Stadium.
Ferndale 27, Snohomish 7: The Golden Eagles (3-2, 3-3) retained their Wesco 3A hopes for a trip to the State Round of 32 in Week 10, which serves as the qualifier for the 16-team state tournament field.
Winless Snohomish saw Talen Bungard score Ferndale’s first and last touchdowns on runs of 8 and 5 yards. Bungard has 10 touchdowns and more than 800 yards for the season.
Jacob Gandy scored on a 6-yard run and junior quarterback Nolan Boleak found Eli Kennerley for a 10-yard score.
Lincoln Thomas kicked three extra points.
Israel Kennerley had two interceptions and Eli Kennerley had one. Bungard finished with 146 yards on 27 carries.
In other Wesco 3A games, Sedro-Woolley beat Marysville-Getchell 35-21, Arlinjngton topped Stanwood 33-7 and Oak Harbor defeated Mount Vernon 21.
In an NWC 2A possible title game, defending 2A state champion Anacortes saw its 18-game win streak snapped with a 34-28 loss to unbeaten Archbishop Murphy of Everett.
Burlington-Edison 28, Bellingham 21: Sophomore quarterback Ben Leonard completed 19 of 32 passes for 175 yards, no interceptions and a 2-yard touchdown to Joe Harward for a 7-0 advantage, but the Tigers held on to the lead throughout the second half. Burlington led 28-14 at the half.
Tyler Frost ran for the other two touchdowns for Bellingham (0-4, 1-5).
In his first two starts at quarterback, Leonard has completed 39 of 64 passes for 397 yards and only one interception and Harward has supplied outstanding receiving support.
Frost’s longest run went for a 21-yard touchdown. Bly Henderson caught seven passes for 68 yards and Harward grabbed six for 71 yards. Cameron Boak kicked three extra points.
Muckleshoot Tribal 32, Lummi Nation 18: The young Blackhawks (0-5) seem to be more competitive in every game of a tough eight-man 2B schedule.
Anthony Solomon made three interceptions to keep Lummi in the game.
Landon LaFontaine threw a 69-yard scoring pass to Travon Lee. Andrew Tageant scored Lummi’s other touchdowns on runs of 1 and 27 yards.
“We’ve had a lot more improvements over last year,” said Lummi coach Watiko Leighton. “We’re also having improvement throughout the season.”
Friday’s games
- Lummi at Neah Bay, 6 p.m.
- Meridian at Nooksack Valley, 7 p.m.
- Mount Baker at Lynden Christian, 7 p.m.
- Archbishop Murphy at Lynden, 7 p.m.
- Bellingham vs. Sehome at Civic Stadium, 7 p.m.
- Friday Harbor at Blaine, 7 p.m.
- Ferndale at Lake Stevens, 7 p.m.
- Squalicum vs. Port Angeles at Port Angeles Civic Field, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published October 14, 2024 at 8:51 AM with the headline "Prep Football Roundup: Meridian rises to the challenge in victory over Mount Baker."
